top 10 in the 2012 grad class

Yeah I second Mark's thoughts, lets keep this thread on topic, and keep to the top players debate, there are plenty of other threads to discuss Basketball BC, or Drive players and so forth,

My New Top 10 in 2012 grad class (after all the big summer tournaments)

1. Manroop Clair- Clearly established himself apart from the rest with his performances down south2. Braxston Bruce- Still big, still skilled and only getting better3. Mitch Goodwin- Showed himself very well, will be the top PG in BC next year bar none4. Kenny George- Great athlete, good showing against tough competition in Vegas5. Cole Penman- Good summer with BBC should be lethal next year with Isaiah in VC6. Lucas Goosen- The only reason in my eyes Delta is even in earshot of a Top 10 ranking7. Jake Newman- Hard working, and a leader should prove himself with a good yound WRCA team8. Cameron Smythe - Defensive anchor, effective offense with alot of upside9. Denzel Laguerta- Quick and intelligent play in the summer.10.Mitch Ligertwood- Had a good summer, with a real good showing at nationals.

I have only seen Manroop play 4-5 times this season, perhaps I have seen his off games but in my opinion he is a bit overhyped. His first 3 games at HS provincials this year he shot poorly and ended up on the bench for spells. He shot and played poorly in all 3 games going 4 for 18 in 1. I also travelled to the Bellvue College tournie in July and saw Drive's the first game of the round robin play. I counted 0 for 8- 3 point shooting, pretty consistant with what I saw at provincials. It is good to see thatManroop did have some great games this summer, just wished I had seen one. Manroop probably puts up 25-30 shots in games also.Something he won't be doing next year at a US Prep school.Why did Sajen only play 1-2 minutes if he played at all, was he injured? He was one of the kids I wanted to watch play against US players?

The players I would build my team around would be Bunce and Ligertwood. Goodwin was playing SG this summer for BBC and only touched ball 4-5 times in the games I saw, didn't get why he wasn't moved to PG as the PG's struggled with TO's. Penman played well in the 2 BBC games I saw at Bellvue College.

If BC Basketball is going to improve we need to do a better job at a younger age. Kids in the US and Ontario have skills in grade 2-3 thatBC kids have in grades 5,6,7. If things are going to change we need to ignite the flame at a younger age. SNB and the clubs need to cooperateand do a better job helping each other improve and promote basketball vs promoting their own programs.

You gotta be kidding me. First of all Manroop had 28 points in the first game at provincials against Oak Bay, and carried his team to victory hitting all of the big shots. He was also named player of the game. After they lost to Mouat, the rest of the games at Provincials meant squat. The Burnaby South coach started playing the seniors more and even started all seniors since it was going to be the last couple games of their high school basketball career. Did it really matter if they finished 7th or 9th or placed at all?

Secondly, I don't know what game you watched at Bellevue but there was no game where Manroop went 0-8 from the 3 point line. If you don't think the kid is good that's fine but there's no need to make up lies. Oh by the way here's a scouting report from the tournament at Bellevue.

"He was completely unstoppable all tournament long, especially when utilizing his go-to move: a right-to left crossover into a stepback three-pointer. He just didn't miss. "

Yes, that really sounds like he was going 0 for 8 from the 3 point line.

These scouts seemed to think Manroop did pretty good saying he was the most impressive scorer at the tournament as well as being easily the most talented player. They also said every team had to box and 1 Manroop. I doubt there is another player in the province who has to be boxed and 1 down in the states.

Manroop will do fine at whichever prep school he decides to go to. He'll get his touches and will excel. Scouts are already saying that if he decides to go play in Seattle that he'll be a top 5 player in the state.

HuskyHaul Mark Knight RT @seatownsports Manroop Clair considering a transfer to Garfield HS? Would instantly be top five player in the state: http://bit.ly/mVeR6I

He's already torched some of the top players in America like Rasheed Sualimon (Duke Commit, ranked 13th by ESPN). Since you seemed to miss all of his good games this season, enjoy Manroop's mix from Vegas. You can also check some more scouting reports/articles.

To be honest I don't think Manroop can do anything to win some people over. Just looking at your post history, It's easy to see that you have tried to undermine anything Manroop has done. You even went as far as to say the reason why Manroop was succesful at Burnaby South this season was because teams were paying attention to Nik. It might just be a BC Hoops thing. Reading stuff over at the Washington High School Basketball forum, they seem to love Manroop's game and have nothing but positive things to say.

Yeah I second Mark's thoughts, lets keep this thread on topic, and keep to the top players debate, there are plenty of other threads to discuss Basketball BC, or Drive players and so forth,

My New Top 10 in 2012 grad class (after all the big summer tournaments)

1. Manroop Clair- Clearly established himself apart from the rest with his performances down south2. Braxston Bruce- Still big, still skilled and only getting better3. Mitch Goodwin- Showed himself very well, will be the top PG in BC next year bar none4. Kenny George- Great athlete, good showing against tough competition in Vegas5. Cole Penman- Good summer with BBC should be lethal next year with Isaiah in VC6. Lucas Goosen- The only reason in my eyes Delta is even in earshot of a Top 10 ranking7. Jake Newman- Hard working, and a leader should prove himself with a good yound WRCA team8. Cameron Smythe - Defensive anchor, effective offense with alot of upside9. Denzel Laguerta- Quick and intelligent play in the summer.10.Mitch Ligertwood- Had a good summer, with a real good showing at nationals.

I have only seen Manroop play 4-5 times this season, perhaps I have seen his off games but in my opinion he is a bit overhyped. His first 3 games at HS provincials this year he shot poorly and ended up on the bench for spells. He shot and played poorly in all 3 games going 4 for 18 in 1. I also travelled to the Bellvue College tournie in July and saw Drive's the first game of the round robin play. I counted 0 for 8- 3 point shooting, pretty consistant with what I saw at provincials. It is good to see thatManroop did have some great games this summer, just wished I had seen one. Manroop probably puts up 25-30 shots in games also.Something he won't be doing next year at a US Prep school.Why did Sajen only play 1-2 minutes if he played at all, was he injured? He was one of the kids I wanted to watch play against US players?

The players I would build my team around would be Bunce and Ligertwood. Goodwin was playing SG this summer for BBC and only touched ball 4-5 times in the games I saw, didn't get why he wasn't moved to PG as the PG's struggled with TO's. Penman played well in the 2 BBC games I saw at Bellvue College.

If BC Basketball is going to improve we need to do a better job at a younger age. Kids in the US and Ontario have skills in grade 2-3 thatBC kids have in grades 5,6,7. If things are going to change we need to ignite the flame at a younger age. SNB and the clubs need to cooperateand do a better job helping each other improve and promote basketball vs promoting their own programs.

I just want to comment on his last remark. I don't think that we should start these kids at an even younger age. We already push these kids at a really young age! We should let kids choose what they choose to do. This "early specialization" is one of the reasons our talent pool isn't "as big" as say an Ontario. Giving these a much more broader base of athleticism will only do wonders for their skill development later on if they do choose to go forward with basketball. In the US, it's not uncommon to have kids who are highly rated basketball players and also highly rated in other sports such as football. Obviously there are exceptions to this, but heck, even the GOAT Michael Jordan played baseball when he was younger. I think that we always tend to want to have kids "specialize" in a certain sports that we take away from their potential. When you really look at it, a kid "fades out" once competition catches up with him even though he's been "basketball training" ever since he "came out of the womb" (again, there will be exceptions to this). I may not be right but I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in.

I expect if he gets an offer from a high D1 school that he thinks is a good fit, then he may not do a post grad year (2013). Because of his young age, it makes sense for him to do a post-grad year and another year of high quality competition and physical maturity will help. He just turned 17.

There's no doubt in my mind that Manroop will have D1 offers before the end of the school year or at worst the following year. He's extremely driven, dedicated and has the skills and mental capacity to compete at that level; however, I think there maybe some relunctance over his size at the SG position. The article on Manroop is correct that he has the scorer's mentality. Over the year at La Jolla Prep I'm sure he'll develop more PG skills, which will invariably enhance his stock.

However, the most important aspect is that where ever he attends the program is the right fit for him. A university career is short and often the highlight of most of our careers. As a player you want to make the most of this time by being a solid player in a winning program. I've seen many a great player head to D1 and it didn't work out as planned for them like local Bol Kong and there's rumbles that Kelly Olnyk may not be too happy at Gonzaga. What will happen this year with Emerson Murray at Cali? We can only hope that great things happen for them. As a player you never want to look back and think what just happened. My career never blossomed like I thought, but now it's over. There's players like Pasha Bains and Chad Clifford whom returned from D1 to play CIS at a high level with several great achievements they can be proud of along the way. Phil Scrubb is no doubt a mid level D1 player yet he attended Carleton and has won a National Championship, chance for a 2nd this year, CIS Rookie of the year and prominent player on the Canadian National Junior Team and will be a maninstay on the Senior team for the next decade along with a possible pro career abroad. I'm an ex-CIS player who won a National Championship and had opportunity to play D2 and D3 level after playing college. The lure of playing south of the border was attractive but fully understanding all the pros and cons I believed my best position was playing CIS and never have had any regrets. I'm not trying to dissuade any kid's dream about playing D1 or even professionally, matter of fact I fully endorse it, but as an individual and player you need to make sure it's the right fit/move for you and most importantly fits into your future goals by doing your homework and good self-analysis.

Manroop is really going to need to increase his PG skills. And play the PG role. Because is it just me or is his form horrible!?! Yes I realize he's percentages are good but could this just be a scoring streak? How can all those shots be going in while he has that bad of form? I think that'll be a big disadvantage for him

Manroop is really going to need to increase his PG skills. And play the PG role. Because is it just me or is his form horrible!?! Yes I realize he's percentages are good but could this just be a scoring streak? How can all those shots be going in while he has that bad of form? I think that'll be a big disadvantage for him

His form is pretty good and more importantly it's quick and goes in. Good form =/= high percentage shot.

Man proper form is what gets you accuracy, range, and speed. And those two players are and were the top athletes in the world and had a lot better form than manroop. How can you compare them? This summer when manroop went off and scored all those 3's its because his team gave him the ball every time and set him screens everytime. But they still lost most of the time because it was a manroop Vs. All show. I dont know about you but i sure wouldnt want to play for a team like that.

A principle many coaches adhere too and which I support is when a player shoots consistently or a strong percentage you don't try and tinker with their form. Some coaches and shooting instructors try to fix some players’ form, but if you have success with it, coaches will leave it alone. I can tell you there have been countless NBA players whose forms are way less then textbook. Any one recall Laker great Silk, or Seattle's Jack Sikma, or current players Kevin Martin and Rashard Lewis.

I agree with that. I think if their shot is natural and successful then you should let it be to some extent. That is true there are some greats that have been exceptions, where they're great players even with "bad" form. It is possible that Manroop is one of those exceptions but I still stand firm with my opinion of his whole role of not being a team player.

Man proper form is what gets you accuracy, range, and speed. And those two players are and were the top athletes in the world and had a lot better form than manroop. How can you compare them? This summer when manroop went off and scored all those 3's its because his team gave him the ball every time and set him screens everytime. But they still lost most of the time because it was a manroop Vs. All show. I dont know about you but i sure wouldnt want to play for a team like that.

None of what you said made any sense. I will say it again proper form =/= accuracy, speed or range on your shot. What I was saying when I was referring to Reggie Miller is that he is one of the greatest shooters in NBA history and his form was far worse than Manroop's. The last thing you said about it being Manroop vs everyone has some truth to it, but let's not forget that Ken George was doing a lot for his team with his defense and scoring. The main reason it was just the two of them scoring is that they're the only 2 players on that team that can really compete the high level players from the US.

I see now that you're just a hater, a really foolish one too. Criticizing someone's shooting form is one thing, but you can't say that D1 coaches will shy away from him or that he is just on some sort of hot streak. As long as it goes in and it's constant, who cares what it looks like?

Let's give Manroop time and wish him well there, he's representing BC ball. Drive does a great job of hyping/promoting their guys and they've done that with Manroop. I think what Golden Wheels is saying is that there are plenty and plenty of guys like Manroop down south, guys that are bigger, stronger and quicker so he's gonna be in tough and i agree with him., doesn't mean i don't like him or hate him.

On the other hand guys that have come out of our provincial programs have let their game speak for themselves, Bunce just signed with Cornell, Scrubb looks like he's gonna be in for a big season this year

I'm giving him a chance I just believe the hype about him was a little pre-mature and unrealistic.

Delete you account and get off this forum premature ? what about all the hype that went into nakai and others hes earned all of his praise hes getting to score on a guy whos ranked in the top 25 in the us and already a commit to duke means something ..premature

Et21 that was a little uncalled for? I'm just stating my opinion on manroop. I still think he's a good player there are just some aspects of his game I was criticizing. So no I will keep my account and continue to say my opinion.

We all have to support every BC kid and hope and share in their dreams of being elite players and playing at the highest levels. I can understand some criticism because so much of the forum is devoted to Claire when there are many other talented players who don't get the recognition he does. Where I come from there are many Manroops. It stands bad for BC ball when we seem to classify him as the only elite player. Others like Bunce, Scrubb, Olnyk, Friesen, Weatbrook, Yu and Kenny George should be talked about. George is a talented player who brings a lot to a team but unfairly plays in Manroops shadow? U think for one moment that it doesn't bother him? These same players read the forum. Don't destroy them, motivate them. He and others are often reduced to second tier. I like and know Manroop, but right now he's no Andrew Wiggans, Anthony Bennett, Khem Birch, Pangos or Kabongo. He's a good kid trying to pave his own path as these others and maybe get to that level.

I think this form is too much Drive Academy vs Basketball BC. Quite frankly not enough is done in the basketball community in BC to mentor and develop players. We are being left in the dust by Ontario and Quebec and dont try and use the Scrubb, Olnyk and Sacre examples on me, because they are token elite players compared to the frequency that Quebec and Ontario are pumping them out. I know firsthand when you provide a basketball culture and mentorship year long these players thrive and become truly the best they can be. Do you know how hard it is year after year to see these kids careers end after grade 12 when its a game they love. We are to BLAME for not developing them to play beyond HS. It's time as some are doing to get this done right and set egos, red-tape and agendas aside and start doing what's right for these kids. It's one of the greatest and proudest achievements in their lives to go onto university.